Did They Have Thanksgiving?
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumnal feast which became the first Thanksgiving. This meal, to celebrate the harvest, represented cooperation between the Indians and the early British colonists.
Were our IRB Tocobaga Indians also celebrating and giving thanks simultaneously with their northern counterparts? Not exactly. In fact, it was just about the time the colonists and the Wampanoags broke bread together in Plymouth that our Tocobaga were on the verge of extinction.
These Native Americas who “crossed the rocks at the Narrows--legendarily at least--provided our community’s name. Instead of feasting in the early 1600s, our Tocobaga were attempting to survive the disease and violence brought in 1528 by Spanish explorer Pánfilo de Narváez. (Chapter One in our Indian Rocks As It Was pictorial history, written by Mayor R. B. Johnson, covers this portion of IRB history.) By some accounts, the Tocobaga were totally extinct in 1620 when the first Thanksgiving jumped off. By some accounts, they existed until the early 1700s.
If the IRB Tocobaga had a Thanksgiving, what would have been on the menu? Fish (of course), shellfish, deer, turtles, dogs, rabbits, armadillos, squirrels, watercress, pumpkins, cabbage palms, and beans. Also on the diet were manatees along with an array of berries, nuts, and fruit as a supplement. Puzzling is that the Tocobaga Indians ate corn, an unusual find in our area. How they got the corn is somewhat of a mystery; some suspect barter with a northern tribe was somehow involved.
The Tocobaga were expert potters and were famous for their hunting and cooking tools. Earlier this year in July 2008, workers erecting a shelter at a city park in Safety Harbor dug up an old knife, which archeologists determined it to be between 6,000 and 8,000 years old…and likely used by the Tocobaga Indians. (Some of my silverware looks to be that old!)
The Tocobaga Indians built mounds--large piles of earth, shells, or stones--within their villages. Many of Florida's roads were paved with the shells of Tocobaga mounds. The Park Street site of Jungle Prada is one such example. In 1903, shell mounds were discovered on Caladesi Island where the Tocobaga are believed to have been the original inhabitants and used the island as a burial ground.
Does anyone have a delicious armadillo recipe they’d like to share?
Nancy Obarski
Beach Trail/IRB
P.S. Indian Rocks Beach As It Was--A Pictorial History makes a great Christmas or Chanukah gift and is available for sale at the IRB Historical Museum, across from the post office.
(Note: If you'd like to comment on this posting, simply click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of the article and follow the prompts. You may comment anonymously if you'd like. Or, you can always e-mail your comments to irbeheard@cmdinc.net and we'll post them for you!)
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumnal feast which became the first Thanksgiving. This meal, to celebrate the harvest, represented cooperation between the Indians and the early British colonists.
Were our IRB Tocobaga Indians also celebrating and giving thanks simultaneously with their northern counterparts? Not exactly. In fact, it was just about the time the colonists and the Wampanoags broke bread together in Plymouth that our Tocobaga were on the verge of extinction.
These Native Americas who “crossed the rocks at the Narrows--legendarily at least--provided our community’s name. Instead of feasting in the early 1600s, our Tocobaga were attempting to survive the disease and violence brought in 1528 by Spanish explorer Pánfilo de Narváez. (Chapter One in our Indian Rocks As It Was pictorial history, written by Mayor R. B. Johnson, covers this portion of IRB history.) By some accounts, the Tocobaga were totally extinct in 1620 when the first Thanksgiving jumped off. By some accounts, they existed until the early 1700s.
If the IRB Tocobaga had a Thanksgiving, what would have been on the menu? Fish (of course), shellfish, deer, turtles, dogs, rabbits, armadillos, squirrels, watercress, pumpkins, cabbage palms, and beans. Also on the diet were manatees along with an array of berries, nuts, and fruit as a supplement. Puzzling is that the Tocobaga Indians ate corn, an unusual find in our area. How they got the corn is somewhat of a mystery; some suspect barter with a northern tribe was somehow involved.
The Tocobaga were expert potters and were famous for their hunting and cooking tools. Earlier this year in July 2008, workers erecting a shelter at a city park in Safety Harbor dug up an old knife, which archeologists determined it to be between 6,000 and 8,000 years old…and likely used by the Tocobaga Indians. (Some of my silverware looks to be that old!)
The Tocobaga Indians built mounds--large piles of earth, shells, or stones--within their villages. Many of Florida's roads were paved with the shells of Tocobaga mounds. The Park Street site of Jungle Prada is one such example. In 1903, shell mounds were discovered on Caladesi Island where the Tocobaga are believed to have been the original inhabitants and used the island as a burial ground.
Does anyone have a delicious armadillo recipe they’d like to share?
Nancy Obarski
Beach Trail/IRB
P.S. Indian Rocks Beach As It Was--A Pictorial History makes a great Christmas or Chanukah gift and is available for sale at the IRB Historical Museum, across from the post office.
(Note: If you'd like to comment on this posting, simply click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of the article and follow the prompts. You may comment anonymously if you'd like. Or, you can always e-mail your comments to irbeheard@cmdinc.net and we'll post them for you!)
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